Phase change compositions, such as inks and overcoats, have been developed to allow robust printing on a wide variety of materials. The materials include non-porous substrates, such as glossy paper, plastics, aluminum foil, etc., and paper-based substrates. The robust printing or coating on these materials is accomplished by a phase change of the printing composition upon cooling, where the composition changes from low viscosity to high viscosity.
The main component of known phase change compositions is an amide-unilin gellant. Amide-unilin gellants are manufactured from raw materials with high levels of impurities and high viscosities, which makes purification difficult. Once the raw materials are purified and the gellant is manufactured, the gellant is blended into an acrylate monomer, with other additives such as colorants and the like, to form the final phase change composition. The multi-step process, including the difficult purification step, adds greatly to the cost of manufacturing the gellant, making the phase change composition more expensive for the customer.
A new mechanism or chemistry that would simplify the manufacturing process of the phase change composition would therefore be desirable.